New Moose a regular Swiss Army knife

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This article was published 09/02/2021 (1695 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tyler Graovac has spent most of his hockey career being the adaptable guy, ready for anything.

The current season, his eighth as a pro, is another case in point.

A 27-year-old centre with 70 NHL games on his resume, Graovac has been loaned, along with defenceman Ashton Sautner and goaltender Arturs Silovs, to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose by the Vancouver Canucks.

The Canucks want the trio readily available for promotion to the NHL, due to quarantine rules. That would be far more difficult due to the international border if they were playing for Vancouver’s main farm team in Utica, N.Y.

And so, Graovac, a seventh-round pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2011, is treating his recent arrival in Winnipeg as a chance to get his career back on course, even as the pandemic looms over everything he does.

“I think every hockey player can relate but you’ve had to be adjustable daily over the last couple of months,” said Graovac. “You never really knew when we were playing and when I got the news about going to Manitoba, at first I was a little shocked because my goal was to stay on the (Canucks) taxi squad and be a part of the team, obviously.

“But as I looked at the opportunity, I actually got really excited to get back to playing hockey because I’ve missed a lot of last season.”

Graovac’s 2019-20 season did not go as planned. After signing with the Canucks, he began the year in Utica — playing 11 games with the Comets before being recalled by the parent club.

He performed well in the NHL, earning time on the power play. But in his eighth game on Dec. 1, 2019, he found himself in a shooting lane before a drive from Edmonton Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse.

The shot struck just below his shot-blocker protection, breaking a bone in his right foot. During the recovery, he was unable to bear weight on the foot for 10 weeks.

Once cleared to return, he was back in Utica for a few games before COVID-19 wiped out the season. He had gone from bad luck to no luck at all.

If there’s been one benefit to the layoff between seasons, the opportunity to get healthy has been crucial for the 6-5, 208-pounder.

“I’m actually feeling the best I’ve ever felt,” said Graovac, who credits his dad Tom for guiding his development in the early days. “With all the time off my body’s been able to be a realign (after) eight years of playing pro hockey and the travel and all that, so I’m just excited to play an actual game.”

When those games occur remains a mystery. As of Sunday, a schedule for the league’s five-team all-Canadian Division had not been unveiled. Meanwhile, play in league’s four American divisions is underway.

Graovac will continue to practising with the Moose and familiarize himself with the way things are done in Winnipeg.

And the games?

“I’ve got no clue,” said Graovac. “I just show up to the rink, put the jersey on and be ready either for Vancouver calling me up or if there’s a game tomorrow, making sure I know the systems and building a little bit of a relationship with the coaching staff.”

Finding his groove with new teammates doesn’t seem to be an issue. Small details are key.

“It’s been it’s been extremely easy for me,” Graovac. “Maybe it’s through experience — I’m kind of a journeyman I guess the last seven years — I’ve been around in different divisions and up and down. I’ve dealt with a lot of different coaches, a lot of different personalities and a lot of different systems. Even (Friday), we were learning a 1-1-3 forecheck rather than Vancouver, which would be a 2-1-2.

“It’s little things like that but that’s never really been an issue for me. I think I kind of pride myself on being adjustable.”

Coincidentally, his arrival in Winnipeg has him working for the same organization as an old OHL nemesis — Jets centre Mark Scheifele. Graovac as the No. 1 centre for the Ottawa 67’s while Scheifele was the top dog with the Barrie Colts, who were coached by Tom Graovac’s old Cornwall Royals teammate, Dale Hawerchuk.

“I always battled him in junior,” said Graovac. “Always went head-to-head on the first line. He was the right-handed centreman, I was left-handed centreman. He was the first-rounder, I was the seventh-rounder. I always wanted to beat him and we always played each other. We always matched up against each other. And now I’m now watching clips of him here in Manitoba, making sure I’m doing what he’s doing.”

Getting back to the bigs remains Graovac’s focus and staying fit and fast is an essential part of that.

“The game has changed so much in the last eight years that I’ve played,” said Graovac, noting 208 pounds seems to be an ideal weight. “It’s all about the speed and there’s really not a lot of contact. Anytime I’m little bit heavier I feel like I’m a little bit a step behind. You don’t see many 6-5 centremen in the league that could that can keep the pace. Guys like Joe Thornton, players I’ve looked up to over the years, if you’re a player like that now I think it’s a little bit of a struggle.

“I think I can surprise a lot of people and I think I did that last year with Vancouver.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14